Motocross Question

[Chris Davies]

Hi. I have never photographed action photography before and am looking for some tips if anyone has any. I will be using a 5D with 70-200. I am unsure if it is a good idea to use flash?

Thanks to any help :)

[82NoMe]

Your camera setup should work excellent. the 70-200 is a great lens for Motocross. Shoot tight for best results. As for the flash I have not had great luck. But that's just me, I may need more practice.

[DC Fan]

I am unsure if it is a good idea to use flash

If there's enough light, probably not.

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/20100206a0417.jpg

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/201002200195.jpg

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/20091025a0518.jpg

Flash has a limited range for the long distances used in motorsport. Unless you have an extremely powerful flash such as the expensive Normans (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/38132-REG/Norman_810821_810821_400_W_S_Battery.html) preferred by some racing photographers, you'll probably be best off using available light. What makes flash hard to use at a race on dirt, is that a standard shoe-mount flash tends to illuminate the dirt in the air as much as the race bike speeding by you.

[kris142]

High aperture (low digit), Higher shutters, COMPOSITION and you should be fine. 5D handles noise pretty well too, so don't be afraid to boost.

[Chris Davies]

Thanks everyone! I will use all of your advice :)

[jimken61]

If your shooting outdoors with good light here are the camera setting I would recommend. Set the camera in TV mode and set your shutter for 1/400th. Set the ISO to 400 and have fun. This gives you a quick enough shutter speed to stop the action but still gives you some motion blur on the wheels and background.
1
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/jimken61/Motocross340e.jpg
2
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/jimken61/Motocross555e.jpg
3
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa205/jimken61/Motocross203e2.jpg

[kit lens]

Use faster shutters to catch dirt flying (out of berms, etc).....obviously as high as you can with a decent aperture. These will on work on certain shots though......you don't want to freeze too much action. I primarily shoot 1/250 shutter with MX, but sometimes will bump it down around 1/125 or so......adjusting aperture accordingly. Obviously you'll need to pan, but it makes a huge difference getting some good wheel blur.

Since you said motocross......I would assume you are shooting outdoors (unless you are just unfamiliar with the terminology, in that case supercross and arenacross are typically your indoor stuff). You shouldn't need flash unless you are shooting close, and in shade (with a much shorter lens). Fill flash will work great in some of those cases.

Here is the kit lens with some fill flash......in the direct sunlight.

http://jonsmithphoto.com/darren/host/ride/ncmp/feb27/IMG_2893.jpg